


Beautiful Mosaics Made Of Broken Pieces

by DefaltManifesto



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Female Friendship, Gen, Happy Ending, Identity Issues, Mentor/Protégé, Post-Radiant Dawn, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-27
Updated: 2015-04-27
Packaged: 2018-03-26 01:46:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3832480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DefaltManifesto/pseuds/DefaltManifesto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's hard to readjust to life after war.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beautiful Mosaics Made Of Broken Pieces

**Author's Note:**

> -sheds a tear- My 200th fic on this website. Probably no one will read this but oh well. This is in the same fandom I wrote my first fanfic in so I'm pretty excited that it's my 200th too. 
> 
> There are some spoilers if you haven't played Radiant Dawn just as a warning. 
> 
> I'll be back to my regularly scheduled Hockey fics sometime later this week. Comments are super appreciated it. 
> 
> Title taken from a Lydia Martin post on tumblr that I will link to below.

[The tumblr](http://schizzar.tumblr.com)

[Title Inspiration](http://marthinski.tumblr.com/post/117430832689)

 

Tanith pledges her loyalty to Sanaki againonce the reconstruction of Begnion is in full swing. She means it too, because she loves the apostle and has spent her whole life protecting her, but she still can't help but feel uneasy. The whole country's identity is based on the apostle's communication with the Goddess. No matter how deeply she cares for the apostle, she will never be the true leader Begnion's meant to have.

 

-.-

 

Sigrun gives her a troop of new recruits to train for the Holy Guard. It's something she's always done but as she lectures them about their duty to protect the voice of the Goddess, she can't help but feel like it's a lie.

 

-.-

 

"Do you ever leave this room?"

Tanith turns and lets the wooden training sword fall to her side. "You can never train too much."

Sigrun laughs and steps further into the training room. "Yes, but I think this place sees you more than your own room."

"Well..." Tanith shrugs and winces when her shoulder gives a painful twinge.

"You know, I've let this go on without saying something for quite some time," Sigrun says as she steps further into the room. "You're working yourself to the bone, my dear. I think I should mandate a rest day for you."

Tanith lets her pry the sword away from her, the exhaustion in her bones finally rising to the surface. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"Why push yourself so hard? What are you trying not to think about?" Sigrun asks. She puts the sword back on the storage rack and turns back to face Tanith head on.

Tanith prides herself on being in control. Her training to get into the Holy Guard required it. When Sigrun looks at her, she feels like she has no control. She has no secrets because Sigrun has always been able to see right through anyone's facade. There's a reason she's the First Commander of the Holy Guard.

"It's the apostle," Tanith says. "I will always follow her but I can't help but think this will ruin our country."

The words feel like treason on her lips and she wouldn't blame Sigrun for discharging her from the Holy Knights right then, but Sigrun just gives her a sad and understanding smile and glides across the room to envelope Tanith in a gentle hug. Tanith slumps into her and buries her face in the older woman's neck. She doesn't cry, but it's still a relief to lean on someone else and let the deep secret in her chest free.

 

-.-

 

Sigrun doesn't hover. She's perfected the art of watching over people without robbing them of their independence. Tanith finds it easier to go to Sigrun's room and talk about her worries with the apostle than go to her own and let her thoughts go around in circles in her head.

Sigrun tells her it's okay to doubt.

"Times are changing," she says. "If we have learned anything, it's that we should never be guided by the voice of any Goddess. We must make these decisions for ourselves."

           

-.-

 

Tanith changes her method of teaching over the next few months. Instead of telling the recruits they should protect Sanaki because she is the voice of the Goddess, she says they should protect her because she is their leader and wants what's best for their country. Sigrun watches over the training and gives Tanith a small smile at the end of every lesson.

 

-.-

 

The apostle is attacked on their way to Gallia for a meeting of the continent's leaders. It's a group of Begnion traditionalists who are displeased with the strengthening alliance with the Laguz. They're hardly enough to overwhelm the Holy Guard, even with only five of them. When Tanith catches sight of an archer in the trees, she doesn't hesitate to put herself between the arrow and the apostle. It pierces her shoulder but it's hardly going to kill her.

The thing is though, she made the choice to step between the apostle and the enemy. There was no divine intervention. Divine intervention has only ever been supremely inconvenient to her duties. She protects the apostle because she believes in her. She protects the apostle because she is the one who can lead Begnion to a better place.


End file.
